Film review: Spirited away
Spirited Away can be a very interesting subject to analyze in a film. It’s one the most well-known Japanese films. Hayao miyazaki is regarded by many as the most successful filmmaker of all time. The Spirited Away Analysis Essay is a chance to dig deeper into the themes of the film. It received widespread acclaim when it was released and went on to become the highest-grossing Japanese film ever. The movie is not always easy to understand, but it has many captivating and imaginative elements that are worth analyzing and appreciating by everyone.
Hayao is Hayao, a Japanese animator who has been dubbed “The Japanese Walt Disney”. His films have been praised for their captivating characters, entertaining plots and “breathtaking” animation. Hayao miyazaki’s films are characterized by several hallmarks. These include the inclusion of a child protagonist, the use of flying during action scenes, and references to environmental issues and pollution caused by humans. Also, there is usually a pair of main characters (male and female), with one character having a past with mystical powers or an unusual history. These films are typically set in European or Japanese cities. Spirited Away is a typical Hayao-Miyazaki movie, since it contains all of his trademarks.
The importance of a person’s name was one of the major themes of this film. Yubaba removing Chihiro’s identity was the first step in her enslavement. Haku warns Chihiro that she’ll be stuck in the spirit realm forever if she can’t remember her name. Chihiro lost her name when she became Sen, but she still needed to keep it to remind herself of the qualities that made her unique. Haku shows the dangers of losing one’s identity. He is freed only by Chihiro. Names play a crucial role in the struggle for power within the spirit realm. The people who have the most power will steal and change the names of others, while those who lack the strength to keep their identities can only be freed by the person with the greatest inner strength.
This film also shows the importance of words to its characters. Haku warns Chihiro repeatedly to not be distracted when she first encounters the spirit word. Chihiro is able to convince Yubaba to give her the job that she wants by using her words. Also, by saying only what she wanted to say, she managed to save the lives of others without revealing the help that Haku Lin Kamaji provided. The importance of words is a testament to their power and the need for caution when selecting them.
Spirited Away’s blurring of the lines between good and bad is another important theme. The characters are clearly labelled as good or bad at the beginning of the movie. The plot develops and we see more of these characters as they affect Chihiro’s quest for escape. Haku, No-Face and other characters appear good to us at first but then reveal their true evil natures. Zeniba and Kamaji initially seem unpleasant, but they end up playing a major role in helping Chihiro to escape. No-Face is the character that undergoes the biggest change, going from being good at first to becoming evil when he starts eating people. He then returns to his original innocence after Chihiro takes him to Zeniba to live with her. Even the characters with the most obvious cut seem to have a different side. Yubaba shows her lighter side while caring for Boh. This theme isn’t usually seen in animated movies, where there is usually a clear distinction between good versus evil. By blurring these lines, we can show how these traits exist in real life.
Spirited Away examines the shock associated with the transition of childhood into adulthood. Chihiro’s bathhouse experience represented her transition from childhood to adulthood by putting her in the work world. Chihiro’s and Boh’s inactivity and idleness are a part of childhood. They both display these characteristics before any major event. Chihiro spends most of her time in the car while her parents are driving her. Boh prefers to lay on his pillows as his mother does her chores. Both of these characters have a tendency for complaining or whining, and seem incapable to do things on their own. Chihiro’s performance is less than impressive when Chihiro becomes Sen, and she has to start working. Lin confirms that Sen has never worked in her entire life. Sen can gradually improve her skills and adapt to work, just as people do. Spirited Away is a film that tackles a theme not often seen in films for this age group.
The movie teaches us that we all make our own decisions that determine who we are. Spirited Away’s plot is heavily influenced the decisions made by Chihiro to help other people. Her own choices created challenges that she had to overcome. Chihiro’s motivation is fear at the beginning of the movie. She is in a new and difficult environment. She faces more problems as the plot develops and she is motivated by other motives, such as love and compassion. She faces resentment because she does not want to follow the unchanging bathhouse lifestyle, a desire that is fueled by her deep love for Haku. She decides to show compassion towards the dangers that she faces, even though it is dangerous. Chihiro does not seem to recall the risks she took or her decisions. This represents to the viewers that they too can be compassionate and loving in their daily lives even if others don’t remember them.
No Face was the most interesting character in the film. It was the spirit that Chihiro let into the bathhouse. No Face, the spirit who Chihiro allowed to enter the bathhouse, undergoes a transformation unlike any other character. Starting out as a seemingly friendly creature, No Face transforms from sane and friendly into a monster which eats human beings, and back again when Chihiro saved him. No Face is defined by his ability to react to emotions, and he also takes on physical and personality characteristics of the people he consumes. Hayao miyazaki says that this character is a metaphor for a secret libido everyone has.
No Face is interpreted to mean a child-like character. No Face’s ability to mirror the personalities and actions of those around him is the main proof. No Face first follows Chihiro about, trying to get her approval by giving her many baths tokens. But she rejects him repeatedly. No Face learns about the greediness of the workers in the bathroom as he interacts with them. They all jump at the chance to pick up the gold No Face drops on the ground. He inherits the greed of these individuals as he becomes more and more involved with them. It escalates until he becomes a monster that consumes everything and everyone in his path. No Face settles down later to become more like himself, thanks to his time spent with Chihiro Zeniba and other characters that exhibited selflessness. These traits are similar in nature to those of children, as No Face mimics and reflects his surrounding characters.
Spirited Away shows the importance of greed through the actions of the bathhouse staff and the impact they have on No Face. Chihiro also sees greed in her parents’ transformation from pigs. These examples are part of the larger theme, temptation. The bathhouse is used to show its prevalence in adult life. Chihiro is shocked to learn that, before entering the bathhouse in the beginning of this film, her parents had been transformed into pigs by their decision to eat what they found. Chihiro’s mother and father gave into their greed, rather than thinking about the other person, as Chihiro did, when they decided to eat the food. The transformation of Chihiro’s family into pigs is irreversible in the film, as greed can be a life-consuming lifestyle. Chihiro’s ability to recognize that the pigs she saw in the pen weren’t her parents was due to her changing mindset after her experience at the Bathhouse. Yubaba’s extravagant clothes were a sign of her greed. She wore them to demonstrate to everyone that she was in charge. Hayao Mitazaki was attempting to show through this theme that everyone is susceptible to greed, so long as they’re enticed with the right thing.
Hayao MIyazaki’s works are all characterized by the theme of environmentalalism. Throughout the movie, we are constantly reminded of the harm done to the environment as well as the effects on society and people. Chihiro is confronted by two characters, Haku the stink-spirit and the Stink Spirit, who are both examples of how environmental issues can be addressed. The staff at the bathhouse try to chase away the Stink Spirit when it first enters the bathhouse. However, they are unsuccessful as it takes over the biggest bath. Chihiro discovers that the spirit was not a monster at all, but rather a river-spirit that had been corrupted by pollution in his river. After removing it, the river spirit was filled with a lot of human trash (including an old bicycle) and was able to take off like a frightened dragon. Hayao says that the stinky spirit represents his own experience of cleaning out a dirty river. The bike was also there. Hayao helped to restore it and make it habitable to fish. The stink spirits serves as a warning about the harm that pollution can do to our environment. They also teach us to repair any damage we have caused if only we tried.
Haku is a character that plays a large role in Spirited Away’s environmentalist message. Haku’s struggle for reclaiming his identity and escaping the spirit realm is resolved by Chihiro at the end when he realizes that Haku actually is the Kohaku River Spirit, which was destroyed due to human settlement. Haku is shown to have lost his identity and home because of human destruction. Chihiro’s Father mentions that early in film, the bathhouse was located next to an abandoned amusement park. They also discuss how many theme parks have been built all over the world until they closed due to an economic slump. This explanation reinforced the environmentalist message, showing how poorly managed land had been, as large areas were destroyed to build structures, which would not last. Chihiro’s father and mother transforming into pigs also amounted to self-pollution because they ate food that was intended for spirits. The fact that their actions were irresponsible led to them being punished. Spirited Away is not a film that promotes environmental awareness. It does, however, offer an interesting examination of pollution created by humans.
Spirited Away contains a multitude of themes. Hayao’s masterpiece, Spirited Away, explores many themes, including the power of words, the ambiguity that exists between good and bad, the suddenness of entering adulthood and the workplace, as well as the power of our own decisions. The fact that a film aimed at a younger audience has so many themes and lessons that can be learned by people of any age is amazing. This film is one of the most captivating and unique animated films ever made. It’s no wonder that it received so much critical acclaim. Hayao miyazaki has managed to capture millions by his stunning visuals and plot. He also created characters that are diverse and interesting.
